The 18 elephants in this group probably weigh as much as five London double-decker buses. I am not sure how they have managed to line up in descending height order for me, but that is exactly what happened in the dustbowl of the Amboseli dry lake one glorious evening in late August. It is a formidable group to be staring down at a single human lying on the ground in front of them.

These encounters, on this raw and elemental amphitheatre, are one of nature’s great spectacles. Unfortunately, there have been very few in the last year as the lake has been flooded. I have learnt that the best lens for a head on encounter is a 200mm - it allows room for some distance between me and the elephants - necessary from a safety perspective, without using too much magnification which can crush the emotion and sense of place.